03 I. M. Pei
I. M. Pei is one of the world's greatest architects
. People admire his buildings in cities around the world. He is famous for his ability to combine old and new architecture.
Ieoh Ming Pei was born in 1917 in Canton, China. He was the oldest son of a wealthy banker. When he was nine years old, his family moved to Shanghai. At that time, Shanghai was a busy city with many new buildings. A 23-story skyscraper especially fascinated young Ieoh Ming. Over the years, he became more and more interested in architecture.
I. M. Pei received a good education at the best schools in Shanghai. His family lived very well and his childhood was happy. His mother was a talented musician, and Pei was very close to her. Unfortunately, she died when he was only 13 years old.
At that time, many wealthy Chinese families sent their children abroad to college. At the age of 17, Pei went to the United States. He studied engineering and architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). He graduated in 1940 and wanted to return to China. But World War II had started, and Pei's father told him it was safer to stay in the United States. During the war, Pei worked for the United States government. His job was to find ways to safely destroy buildings. Pei did not like this work and was very happy when the war ended. After the war, Pei went to the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Pei planned to return to China after he received his master's degree. But his father didn't agree. Again he could not go home. Pei stayed in the United States and worked for a building company in New York City. During this time, he designed homes, office buildings, parks, and shopping centers. Some of these buildings became famous.
In 1955, I. M. Pei started his own company. He designed many buildings for M.I.T. He also designed the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He became well known for creating buildings that looked like the things around them.This was very unusual.For example,for a building in the Rocky Mountains, he designed towers that looked like the mountains.
Pei was very successful.But one project almost ruined his career. In the early 1970s, his company designed the John Hancock Tower in Boston. The 60-story building was covered with blue-green glass. It looked like a huge mirror. Unfortunately, there was one problem—the windows started to fall out. Over and over, Pei's workers put in new windows. But over and over, they fell out again. Many newspapers in the country had stories about Pei's building. After a while, his company lost a lot of business. Eventually they discovered that the glass was not right. They replaced all of the windows and the problem was solved. Today, people think the John Hancock Tower is one of I. M. Pei's biggest successes.
During this time, Pei went abroad and designed buildings in Kuwait, Singapore, and Hong Kong. In 1974, he visited China for the first time in 40 years. He designed a hotel in Beijing. He also designed the 72-story Bank of China building in Hong Kong. This is one of the tallest buildings in Asia.
One of Pei's most famous works is the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was a big challenge because he added a new part to an old building. His design was a big success. The president of France saw Pei's work and admired it. He chose Pei to design an addition to the Louvre museum in Paris. Pei added a glass and steel pyramid to the 700-year-old building.This was also unusual,because the Louvre is a traditional building and the pyramid is modern. At first, many Parisians were unhappy with the modern addition. But now, many people like his bold design.
I. M. Pei is someone who has truly influenced the modern world. He is a great success among architects.